Highlight of the Week - Computing Community Consortiumhttp://cra.org/ccc/resources/highlights/past-highlights
Tue, 31 Mar 2015 18:08:19 +0000Joomla! - Open Source Content Managementen-gbhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/Cra/cccComputingResearchHighlights?format=skinCra/cccComputingResearchHighlightshttps://feedburner.google.comInstant-on Computing in Sighthttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cra/cccComputingResearchHighlights/~3/dM_qiH24Blw/438-instant-on-computing-in-sight
http://cra.org/ccc/resources/highlights/past-highlights/438-instant-on-computing-in-sight<div class="feed-description"><p><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;"><img src="http://cra.org/ccc/files/images/on_button.jpg" width="394" height="246" alt="on button" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">When you turn on your computer, it can take a few seconds to a few minutes to physically warm up and display the home screen. Some computers even get hot during this process. That is because computers today use electrical currents to encode data. This is huge limiting factor for reliability, plus it takes an enormous amount of energy in the form of heat. &nbsp;</span></p>
<p>A Cornell University team led by postdoctoral associate John Heron, has discovered a way to potentially encode data without current. The team used a room-temperature magnetoelectric memory device to apply an electric field across an insulator. This device requires low voltage without any current. &nbsp;The key is that it uses magnetic switchability, in two steps, with nothing but an electric field so it has low energy consumption. &nbsp;</p>
<p>There is still work to do to ramp up durability but this is major leap in the right direction.&nbsp; Their results were <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v516/n7531/full/nature14004.html">published online</a> on December 17 in Nature. &nbsp;To read more about this project, see the <a href="http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2014/12/multiferroic-heroics-put-instant-computing-sight">Cornell Chronicle</a>.&nbsp;</p></div><img src="//feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cra/cccComputingResearchHighlights/~4/dM_qiH24Blw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>hvasaly@cra.org (Helen Vasaly)HighlightsFri, 16 Jan 2015 05:24:53 +0000http://cra.org/ccc/resources/highlights/past-highlights/438-instant-on-computing-in-sightExpeditions in Computer Augmented Program Engineering (ExCAPE)http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cra/cccComputingResearchHighlights/~3/4b7KSIvBbo0/422-expeditions-in-computer-augmented-program-engineering-excape
http://cra.org/ccc/resources/highlights/past-highlights/422-expeditions-in-computer-augmented-program-engineering-excape<div class="feed-description"><p><a href="http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~alur/home.html">Dr. Rajeev Alur</a>, the Zisman Family Professor at the <a href="http://www.upenn.edu/">University of Pennsylvania</a> in the <a href="http://www.cis.upenn.edu/">Department of Computer and Information Science</a>, leads <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503169">the NSF Expeditions in Computer Augmented Program Engineering (ExCAPE)</a>. The goal of <a href="https://excape.cis.upenn.edu/">ExCAPE</a> is to change the way programmers develop software by advancing the theory and practice of software synthesis.&nbsp; ExCAPE develops synthesis tools that can assist expert programmers in discovering difficult code and meet challenges in multicore programming. As ExCAPE aims to affect industrial practice, design tools will be developed and evaluated in close collaboration with industrial partners. &nbsp;</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">Recently, </span><a href="https://excape.cis.upenn.edu/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">ExCAPE</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;"> has been developing Personalized Education synthesis tools such as automatic grading and feedback. The goal of automatic feedback is to provide a meaningful explanation of students’ mistakes. In collaboration with </span><a href="http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~lorisdan/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">Loris D'Antoni</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;"> (</span><a href="http://www.cis.upenn.edu/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">Penn</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">), </span><a href="http://web.engr.illinois.edu/~kini2/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">Dilip Kini</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;"> (</span><a href="http://illinois.edu/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">UIUC</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">), </span><a href="http://web.engr.illinois.edu/~vmahesh/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">Mahesh Viswanathan</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;"> (</span><a href="http://illinois.edu/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">UIUC</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">), </span><a href="http://bjoern.org/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">Bjoern Hartmann</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;"> (</span><a href="http://www.berkeley.edu/index.html" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">UC Berkeley</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">), and </span><a href="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/sumitg/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">Sumit Gulwani</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;"> (</span><a href="http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">Microsoft Research</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">) Alur developed the synthesis tool, called </span><a href="http://www.automatatutor.com/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">AutomataTutor</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">, which has the ability to answer match a varying version of a problem and highlight part of a question. It uses constraint solvers for personalized and actionable feedback.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">The goal of </span><a href="http://www.automatatutor.com/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">AutomataTutor</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;"> is to help students learn automata theory and to help teachers prepare exercises and problem sets. It saves teachers from having to grade and has even been found to be better than human grading. Currently, </span><a href="http://www.automatatutor.com/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">AutomataTutor</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;"> is used at </span><a href="http://www.upenn.edu/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">Penn</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">, </span><a href="http://illinois.edu/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">UIUC</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">, </span><a href="http://ucsd.edu/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">UC San Diego</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">, </span><a href="http://www.epfl.ch/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">EPFL (Switzerland)</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">, and </span><a href="http://en.ru.is/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">Reyjkavic University (Iceland)</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">. </span><a href="https://excape.cis.upenn.edu/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">ExCAPE</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;"> has conducted a rigorous evaluation of </span><a href="http://www.automatatutor.com/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">AutomataTutor</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;"> with 377 students in three university courses. It was found that providing either counterexamples or hints is judged as helpful, increases student perseverance, and can improve problem completion time. The students’ response to the tool has been enthusiastic.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p style="margin-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">“I thought the feedback was absolutely excellent.”</span> <br/>
<p style="margin-left: 30px;">“I liked its subtle hints.”<span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;"><br/>
<p style="margin-left: 30px;">“This is a far superior way of learn new things rather than read about something, I hope this way of teaching will be implemented in all schools.”</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;<span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">AutomataTutor is free and easy to use. Visit&nbsp;</span><a href="http://automatatutor.com/" style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">automatatutor.com</a><span style="line-height: 14.3000001907349px;">&nbsp;to find out more.</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p></div><img src="//feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cra/cccComputingResearchHighlights/~4/4b7KSIvBbo0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>hvasaly@cra.org (Helen Vasaly)HighlightsMon, 20 Oct 2014 20:56:12 +0000http://cra.org/ccc/resources/highlights/past-highlights/422-expeditions-in-computer-augmented-program-engineering-excapeMaking Handheld Health Care a Realityhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cra/cccComputingResearchHighlights/~3/7zVGJNV0BRw/421-making-handheld-health-care-a-reality
http://cra.org/ccc/resources/highlights/past-highlights/421-making-handheld-health-care-a-reality<div class="feed-description"><p>Two researchers at the <a href="http://www.gwu.edu/">George Washington University</a> <a href="http://www.seas.gwu.edu/">School of Engineering and Applied Science</a>, <a href="http://www.seas.gwu.edu/zhenyu-li">Dr. Zhenyu Li </a>and graduate student Baichen Li, have developed a liquid handling system that could make handheld health care testing a reality. <br/> <br/>This compact microfluidic liquid handling system fits in the palm of your hand and is operated by a smartphone, which, with the help of a mobile app displays test results within 15 minutes.
<br/>The instrument could be used in physicians’ offices or emergency rooms, providing a cheaper, faster alternative to standard diagnostics tests. In the future, the handheld device could be sold to individual consumers, so people would be able to monitor their health in their homes. Alternatively, this technology would be ideal for patients in developing countries who do not have access to laboratory services.<br/><br/> The researchers still have a few technical issues to address before their device is perfected. They would like to make the microfluidic chip more inexpensive, disposable and the system lighter weight. They also are developing ways for the system to be able to perform multiple tests at once.<br/>
<br/>The <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a> sponsored this research.<br/> <br/>For the full article, please click <a href="http://gwtoday.gwu.edu/medical-testing-go">here</a>.</p>
</div><img src="//feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Cra/cccComputingResearchHighlights/~4/7zVGJNV0BRw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>hvasaly@cra.org (Helen Vasaly)HighlightsTue, 30 Sep 2014 21:46:03 +0000http://cra.org/ccc/resources/highlights/past-highlights/421-making-handheld-health-care-a-reality